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I have a question regarding running the climate control while the car is sitting still.

If you press the ON button and leave the C-Max in Park I believe the vehicle is now considered ready to drive. I also believe that the climate control, radio, and all the other accessories will operate from the high voltage battery at this point.

If the car is left in this ready to drive state but is never taken out of Park, I would imagine that the accessories would start depleting the battery. When the battery runs down to a certain point, the ICE will start and recharge the battery back up and then shut off again. Then the cycle repeats itself.

Do I have this correct? I am asking because I was wondering if it were possible to sleep in the C-Max overnight and have the air conditioning keep the interior cool.

Had to wait for DW for about an hour at the doctor's office last week. It was cold outside so I left the Max on and in park, climate control set to 72 deg. It worked just fine - when engine cooled down or battery got depleted the engine would kick on for a few minutes, then shut off.

I stayed comfortable and engine didn't have to run full time. Sounds like your scheme would work in the summer, but the usual precautions still apply regarding carbon monoxide. Keep a window cracked, beware of obstructed exhaust pipe or wind from the rear blowing fumes back under and into the car.

I have a question regarding running the climate control while the car is sitting still.

If you press the ON button and leave the C-Max in Park I believe the vehicle is now considered ready to drive. I also believe that the climate control, radio, and all the other accessories will operate from the high voltage battery at this point.

If the car is left in this ready to drive state but is never taken out of Park, I would imagine that the accessories would start depleting the battery. When the battery runs down to a certain point, the ICE will start and recharge the battery back up and then shut off again. Then the cycle repeats itself.

Do I have this correct? I am asking because I was wondering if it were possible to sleep in the C-Max overnight and have the air conditioning keep the interior cool.

Yes this works. As the other person mentioned, it's not technically recommended and proper ventilation is important.

Back in '04 or '05 there were huge traffic jams in the south when folks were evacuating before a hurricane. I don't recall the specifics but it may have been around Houston. It might even have been for Katrina. People were stuck in their cars for hours in some cases.

Anyway, I remember stories posted on the Prius forums from people who were in those jams in their Prius, which at the time was the only car with an electric AC compressor and automatic stop-start. These people were able to stay in their cars with the AC on and their laptops and cell phones plugged in and only burned a few gallons of fuel, while people all around them were running out of gas and getting stranded.

Called Customer Relations with this same question today. I would like to leave the vehicle turned on overnight and maintain a minimum cabin temperature. At first she read me irrelevant stuff out of the owner's manual. Then the gal put me on hold to ask a technical representative. The answer I got back was, No. If someone here can provide a slightly more comprehensive reply, that would be great. It would seem rather foolish to expect the customer to freeze to death in a rest area just because Ford can't commit to how long the vehicle can sit still.

Called Customer Relations with this same question today. I would like to leave the vehicle turned on overnight and maintain a minimum cabin temperature. At first she read me irrelevant stuff out of the owner's manual. Then the gal put me on hold to ask a technical representative. The answer I got back was, No. If someone here can provide a slightly more comprehensive reply, that would be great. It would seem rather foolish to expect the customer to freeze to death in a rest area just because Ford can't commit to how long the vehicle can sit still.

Lawyers

DW sat for more than 2 hours this summer in 100+*'s a couple of times.

ZERO problems, cool inside, the ICE ran for a few minutes a few times, wouldn't want to do it in a "normal" car hard on it.

It's sad, but it also made me chuckle a little: I just tried calling back to get a better answer. I wasn't argusome, or anything like that. But they wouldn't even say it was okay to leave it on for fifteen minutes while waiting for a train. Oh, brother!

I would like to leave the vehicle turned on overnight and maintain a minimum cabin temperature. ...It would seem rather foolish to expect the customer to freeze to death in a rest area just because Ford can't commit to how long the vehicle can sit still.

I expect it all depends on occupany...

Your problem statement can be interpreted as something one might do at home on cold nights. In fact, it looks more like you're talking about informal "car camping." (It's a good car for it.) I would expect Ford to be very noncommittal regarding leaving a vehicle active and unattended. If you in fact are asking about active and occupied, and phrase it that way, you may get a different answer. Ask how long the car can maintain the internal environment while stuck in a traffic jam. Katrina's a good example.

Yes, you can run the vehicle in this manner until the gasoline runs out. Parking valets have left some vehicles on like this by mistake. The bad news is after the fuel runs out, the HV battery can drain beyond service limits. We don't know yet if the CMax has protection against this.

Some adventurous (or is it cheap) Prius owners have "camped out" this way. In one particular case, it was determined with a scan guage that the car was consuming a little less than 3/4 gallon per hour while sleeping in it overnight with the a/c on. So filled up, one could easily do it. Obviously you can not let the tailpipe become obstructed (snow accumulation, mud, etc).

LOL! On our summer camping trip, this was my Plan B in case of severe weather.

It may just have been good story but one prius owner said he pulled into an abandoned parking lot late one night, parked under one of the still functioning light poles, left the car and a/c on, locked the doors, and went to sleep. Upon waking up the next morning, he found himself completely surrounded by a weekend flea market!

I used to live on the road as a consultant, and brought my dog with me. He stayed in the hotel with me at night, and in the car at the job site during the day. My C-Max has the optional digital keypad. If the weather isn't nice enough to leave the windows down for the dog, one can simply put the windows up, leave the car running with the climate control set to a comfy temp, lock the car and walk away. On break and lunch, unlock the car with the keypad, walk the pooch, and repeat. Between that, the fold-flat seats, and bowls of food and water, a climate-controlled C-Max it's not a bad place for the doggie to spend some time. Just remember to fuel up on the way home.

Oh I know it works. My daughter has spent many a sunny afternoon in the cool comfort of the CMax, and previously our Prius, while we watched her brothers soccer games (approx. 2 hrs). She lowers the rear seats, stretches out and reads. This is at a small athletic facility where we can park literally a few yards away from the field. I must admit I've spent some time there too during pre-game practices and halftimes!

With my last sync update I didn't want to waste the gas just to update the infotainment computer so I started the upgrade before I left the house, drove to the grocery store while it was running. Parked the car and left it in READY mode while it was still updating. When I got out of the car it didn't want to lock the door because the engine was still on but I was able to get out of the car and override it using the key fob buttons. After a few seconds it registered the lock command - I went shopping and when I came back out Sync was just about done upgrading. Since the critical vehicle systems aren't that tied into the embedded infotainment system that much I didn't have any issues.